The Penn's Grove record., 1887-06-04
FLORIBEL.

She was certainly the loveliest little
creature l ever saw The first time /
noticed her she was being brought down
the steps in the nurses arms; but after
the nurse had walked a little way she
put her down on the pavement, but kept
fast hold of her, so that she would not
fall or be knocked over by the crowd;
and it was really amusing to see SO tiny
a thing toddling along, uttering little
cries of delight at the numerous objects
which pleased her on the street.
She was beautifully dressed in some
silky material of delicate gray, and a
richly embroidered cloak nearly covered
her little form.
She had long light hair which fell in
silken waves upon her shoulders, and
the sweetest eyes.
| was so attracted by her that L fol-
lowed them to the square, where the
nurse sat down on one of the benches
under a tree, while the little folks frol-
licked around. l took q seat near by
and watched her innocent gambols. At
last l could not help saying to the
nurse:
What q dear little thing you have
therel And what a little beautyl"
Eyes. ma'am," assented the nurse,
pleased at my admiration of her young
charge. "And SO good; she doesn't give
Il bit of trouble"
"What is her name?" 1 inquired.
"Floribel."
"Oh, what a sweet namel Floribell''
l called: ''come to me, comei'' and /
Glapped my hands to attract her atten-
ton,
She stopped in her chase OF the brown
sparrows and looked at me shyly.
Come here, you sweet little thing"
| said, In as enticing a voice as possible,
holding out my hands.
HShe'n come to you ma'am," said
the nurse; s'she's not a bit afraid OF
strangers"
And as she spoke the little one came
running down the walk toward me,
with short, uncertain steps. l stopped
and picked her up and set her on my
lap, kissing the dear little face, and
smoothing back the long silken locks
that have fallen over her eyes in her
play.
She could not talk plainly; in fact,
not at all to be Ineligible, but seemed
to understand all that was said to her.
She was so strikingly pretty that she
attracted the attention Of the passers-by,
many Of whom, especially the ladies,
stopped to give her a passing caress.
She sat on my lap for some time, quite
contentedly; delighted with watching
the groups of children %trundling their
hoops or Swimming by on their roller
skates.
AT last 1 gave her back to the nurse
and went on my way. But the sweet
picture remained in my mind and
haunted me.
"Oh, that she were mine!'' / ejacula-
ted. How l could love herl What an
intense source of pleasure she would be
to my lonely heartl'
| had been married six years, but had
never had a child; and possessing a very
and demonstratiye DISPOSE
ton, l often longed for something to
my caresses upon; something to
interest me during the long hours every
day that my husband was away at his
office. We were wealthy, but in the
midst OF our riches, my heart often felt
a void.
1 wondered if / would ever meet the
dear little thing again; but the very
next day there she was in the square.
But two little girls had her in charge
time, and they seemed to watch
over her with the tenderest interest.
Yet little Floribel was quite ~independ-
ent, and as the children rolled about on
their skates, wonld run and frolic
among them, though they took care
that she was never hurt.
/ found out that she lived in the
house from which / had first seen her
coming out with the nurse, and many q
time l walked by there only to catch a
glimpse of my little favorite. Sometimes
l saw her at the window, and would Kiss
my hand to her, and she would nod her
little head in return till her hair tum-
bled all over her eyes. She Don came
to know me, l met her so often in the
square and took so much notice of her.
Generally she was with the nurse, or
with the little girls, but sometimes she
was with a tall, stately lady with very
black hair, and eyes of the same deep
hue. ! never spoke to her when in
company with the lady, lest the latter
should consider it a liberty,
After a while [ began to feel that l
had lost a day, if n passed without
my meeting little Floribel and having a
play with her. l told my husband of
my new-found source of pleasure, and
he laughed and said II was just like all
the women
My husband is very kind and indul-
gent to me, but lacking In sympathy.
"Oh, Charles" l sighed, ''if she were
only minel l would never weary of pet
ting and playing with her."
"Well, Jennie, pet me" said my hus-
band.
"But you're away all day; and l can't
pet you in the way l could this dear
thing. ! actually coyet her. l
wonder if its wrong to do so2n
"Why, my dear" said my husband,
''if you want one of these things SO
badly, / dare say / can buy you one at a
reasonable price. Suppose we adyeT-
Lise."
"No, indeed" / returned, ''for !
want only this one; the little creature
that Uye learned to love, ana who seems
to know and love me. And / would, on
no account, have one that was not of
the best blood, and this j know, from
her fine features, little Floribel pos
"Wel, dear, I'll get you a canary
bird, or a pull-parrot, or a Maltese